Scientific Name: Lamprotornis splendidus
Length: 11 inches long. Average Adult Weight: One quarter of a pound.
Description: The Splendid Glossy-Starling is roughly eleven inches long. It has a glossy blue-green crown. Its iridescent blue back tinged with purple with a glossy blue-green rump, glossy green wings with blue tips. The starling has a purple chin, throat, breast and upper belly with iridescent blue lower underparts with black legs. Its eye is yellowish-white and bill is black.
Habitat: Lowland forests, forest patches, gallery forest or park and gardens with tall trees. Splendid Glossy-Starlings are found from sea level up to 6570 feet above sea level.
Countries found in: Angola, Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, and Zambia.
Babies: Splendid Glossy-Starlings are monogamous and lay 2 to 4 eggs between Decmeber and May.
Food: Glossy-Starlings feed in insects and a variety of invertabrates. They will also eat fruit is it is readily available.
Group Name: Murmuration, Chattering, or Flock
Habits: Glossy-Starlings nest in tree cavities and in the eaves of buildings.
Conservation Status: Least Concern for extinction.
Interesting Facts: There are 22 species of Glossy-Starlings in Africa.
There are 4 sub-species of the Splendid Glossy-Starlings: L. s. chrysonotis, L. s. splendidus, L. s. lessoni, and L. s. bailundensis.
